Senator from Vermont

I
Ancestral Life
THE FLANDERS LINE, THE GILFILLAN LINE, THE DUNCAN LINE

WHY be interested in ancestors? Many people hunt back
through the centuries for illustrious or noble forebears.
They like to find a lord or an earl or a duke, or perhaps
a king, somewhere along the line. Such people are liable to have
unpleasant surprises. Reckoning the generations of the Christian
era, it is inevitable, practically speaking, to have somewhere behind us at least one king -- and many rascals.

I cannot search my own line hopefully for illustrious or noble
names. My interest lies in the narrowing stream of heredity which
concentrates, in each of us, some elements of body or mind or
temperament (whether of spirit I do not know) and which gives
us what we have to start with.

I found the key to constructive living, first, in recognizing
what I was by inheritance; then in making my plans and bending my energies to the best possible use of that "nature" which
had been bequeathed me.

There is an ancient argument as to which predominates in determining a man's fortunes, nature or nurture. Our generation
has the idea that nurture -- the social institutions and personal
relationships which surround one -- is the primary determinant. I

Print this page

While we understand printed pages are helpful to our users, this limitation is necessary
to help protect our publishers' copyrighted material and prevent its unlawful distribution.
We are sorry for any inconvenience.